Hugo's Princess Season 2
by ApplauseJunkie
Summary: The Winter Olympics are finally here, and Hugo is ready to dance. After all, with Sofia by his side, there's nothing he can't do.
1. Episode 1: The Olympics Pt 1

I couldn't believe it was finally here. The Disney Olympics Winter Games. Sofia and I had been training for a year and a half to be ready for this. Twenty-five kingdoms had sent enchanted ice dancing teams this year, including Friezenburg, Wei-Ling and of course, the favored competitor, Arendelle, the ice capitol of the world. I would be skating against the ice queen herself, Queen Elsa, and her partner, a cheerful little snowman named Olaf. It was their first Olympics as a Disney kingdom, but everyone expected them to do very well.

Sofia took my hand as we walked into the arena for the first time. I looked down at her and took a deep breath. My princess squeezed my hand.

"Three days from now we'll be out there competing," she breathed.

It was a nerve racking thought, but she was right. We had two days to practice on the ice, the first divided into 30-minute sessions for each nation to have practice time alone on the ice; the second day the rink was open to everyone all day. The next day was the opening ceremony. Ice dancing began on the very first day of actual competition, so we had very little time to prepare.

We arrived to our practice session fifteen minutes early, only to find they were running behind. I sighed. Of course they were late. Sofia and I warmed up together, then spent a little time on one of the many trampolines that lined the side rooms of the arena. Fifteen minutes was barely enough time to run through all of the routines once, so I saved my solo routines for the ice and we spent our time on the trampoline solely on the partner dance.

There was one move that was more challenging than the others: the Spiral Goose. With me in a low split, I lifted Sofia so she could plant one knee in the small of my back. Then, with as much force as possible, I stood straight up, tossing Sofia into the air, where she spiraled four times, tucked two somersaults, and caught my hands on the way back down, where she landed facing away from me, with a full beat and a half to recover before we went into the next Stargazer Spin. It had always been our weak spot, so we usually started practice by running that move before we went through the whole routine.

We started facing each other, and counted up our three bounces to give us the momentum, then Sofia pushed off my hands and I swung her around as I dropped into my split. Her knee contacted my back, and before she had a chance to lose any speed I threw her upward, releasing her hands. I stepped backwards as she spiraled, and held my hands out to catch her when she somersaulted, but as she descended, her left hand only barely grazed mine on the way down. With a quick reaction I reached down and caught her by the wrist, enough to safely transition her out of the landing, but the falter was visible nonetheless. The judges would spot something like that a mile away, and points would be taken off.

Once she was balanced, she turned around to look at me with big, scared eyes. "I almost missed-"

"Hey." I silenced her by pulling her into a quick hug. "Don't let it get in your head. Let's do it a couple more times just in case."

Three more perfect Spiral Goose lifts and she was satisfied, then we ran the whole routine, by which point my father came in to let us know it was almost our turn on the ice.

Even though the partner dance was the last event of the ice dancing competition, we always practiced it first. On the ice we ran through the routine without a hitch, performing it as smoothly as we ever had. My other dances were solid; my natural talent for ice dancing coupled with the hard work I had put in over the years was more than enough to cement them in my muscle memory. Sofia watched from the sidelines and applauded in between each dance as I finished. Every time she did it gave my confidence a boost, even though I knew she would always applaud, no matter how poorly I had skated. Just having her here was enough.

Even though nearly a year and six months had passed since Sofia and I started dating, I still got butterflies when she looked at me, when she smiled, when she touched my hand. The longer I knew her the deeper in love with her I fell, and every day I was priviledged to watch Sofia grow into the most remarkable young woman I had ever seen. She was a powerful, fiery princess with a strong conscience and a leader's instinct to rival any royal in the hundred and thirty-eight Disney kingdoms. Sometimes I looked at her and I couldn't believe she was really mine.

I glided off the ice and into her arms, and before I put the blade covers onto my skates I leaned down and kissed her softly. "Can you believe it's finally here?" I whispered to her. She giggled and shook her head.

"I'm so excited for you, baby," she said, kissing me one more time.

I grinned. This was the start of big things. Very big things.


	2. Episode 2: The Olympics Pt 2

The first day of the competition arrived. I was awake at five, up and getting dressed in my warmup clothes. All of my costumes were already at the rink, hung up immaculately in my locker.

Downstairs at the hotel breakfast, the other competitiors were getting their morning nourishment as well. The kitchen was having a hard time keeping up with all the demands: atheletes can eat three times as much as a normal person, and now they had a hotel full of them.

Sofia and I were staying in the hotel with the other competitors, although she was a floor below me. Both of our families were in the hotel next door. The Olympics was a huge deal, so of course everyone had turned up to watch. Even my granddad, who was still a little uncomfortable with the idea of male ice dancers, had traveled here to watch me compete.

Competition took two days, and there were three events, two solo and one partner dance. Both solo dances were on one day, which would be physically taxing on the dancers, so it was good that they had chosen to place them as far apart as possible to give us time to recover.

The short dance was first, the one I was most confident about. I skated effortlessly through it, and found myself in third place. My heart soared. I had dreamed of medaling in the DOWGs, of course, but never had I actually hoped that I would. It was our first Olympics in the ice dancing event; it would be miraculous if I won a medal this year. Still, the day wasn't over. There were two more dances to be done before I could clinch that bronze medal.

The afternoon I spent asleep, not watching the rest of the competition. I needed to rest up for the free dance that evening. Once again we arrived at the ice earlier than we needed to, and Sofia helped me warm up for the free dance. This one was longer, which meant it needed even more endurance.

The program went by without much of a hitch; I had to change a quintuple lutz to a triple to conserve energy, but there were no obvious mistakes, and by the time I had finished and gotten over to the scoring area, I was somehow remarkably still in third place. Now all that was left was the partner dance tomorrow.

Sofia and I ate dinner together, wolfing down massive quantities of food.

"Tomorrow," she breathed.

"Tomorrow," I agreed. It all came down to tomorrow.

So far the standings in the scores were Freezenburg in first, followed very closely by Arendelle. The two had been within three points of each other the entire day, and now it would come down to the partner dance to see which of them would take home the gold. Freezenburg had won four years ago at the last DOWGS, and were returning this year to defend their gold.

"I really hope I can skate well enough to keep you in third," Sofia said suddenly. I looked up from my pasta to stare at her.

"Baby. We're gonna be great. We've been working on this for two years." Internally of course I was just as nervous as she was, especially after the slip yesterday. But outwardly I was all confidence. Outward confidence had always been one of my strengths.

The next day, at the rink, I slipped into the outfit Amber had designed and made for me. She had, of course, insisted on making all of my costumes, but especially the partner dances, where she had been allowed to design Sofia's, as well. It was a light pinkish lavender, much lighter than her usual purple, but Amber had remembered Sofia's signature color. There was a belt of rhinestones around her waist, that faded into little sparkles on both the bodice and the short skirt.

Ice dancing skirts had to be extremely short to allow for free movement on the ice, and I would be lying if I said I didn't very much appreciate just how short Amber had made my girlfriend's costume. Those legs. I could stare at them for days.

Sofia and I spent the entire six-minute warmup period practicing the Spiral Goose, making sure it would be completely solid. Then we waited while the other dancers performed their routine. Since we were in third place we danced third-to-last.

Finally, it was our turn. We took the ice and almost right away I could tell this routine was going to be one of our best performances ever. Everything was perfectly smooth; Sofia skated better than she ever had in her life. I could feel a bubble of pride forming in my chest before the routine was even over.

When we hit the Spiral Goose, I was already riding the high of success. I spun her into the air and swung her onto my back with considerable ease, and threw her into the air with my old confidence, that came out whenever I knew something was going to turn out my way. Sofia spun in air four times, then turned two somersaults and landed back on the ice, her right hand firmly in mine. When her left hand hit mine, I knew immediately something was wrong. The next instant I felt her fingers sliding through mine, and the next instant I heard the painful thud as Sofia hit the ice.


	3. Episode 3: Aftermath

We finished the routine.

Sofia got up, and with tears streaming down her face-whether they were from pain or disappointment I couldn't tell-she skated on. The rest of the dance went smoothly, but we both felt like the wind had been knocked out of us.

We held the final pose just long enough for the music to end, then she collapsed into my arms. I could hear her crying over the roar of the sympathetic crowd.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry..."

At this point I didn't care about the competition as I slowly guided her off the ice. I could already see a huge red spot forming on her back where she had landed. She was still crying by the time we got her to the bench so we could look at her back.

"Did you hit your head on the ice?" my father asked her urgently, and I saw the royal family from Enchancia hurrying over from where they had been sitting in the stands. Sofia was too hysterical to speak to us, but she nodded that she had hit her head, and with one hand pointed to the impact point. There was no lump yet, but we couldn't check for a concussion until we could get her tears under control.

Queen Miranda elbowed her way through the little crowd and pulled Sofia into her lap. My princess flung her arms around her mother and sobbed. "I ruined everything," she wailed.

Immediately I was at her side again. "Baby, you didn't ruin anything. Things like this happen. I'm just as much at fault for not catching you."

Her tears started to slow down a little bit. Miranda took her chin.

"Look at me, baby. Open your eyes wide and look at me."

Sofia did her best to obey, still sniffling.

The queen stared hard at her eyes for several seconds, then looked up to where my dad and King Roland were looking over her shoulder worriedly. "If she has a concussion, it's just a small one. There's no visible change in her pupils."

Roland and the twins let out a sigh of relief. James and Amber were both watching me as I watched Sofia, and I swallowed hard, trying to keep my cool. James would not be pleased that I had dropped his sister on the ice.

Eventually Sofia managed to stop crying and stand up, and she hobbled over to the scoring area. Ever the trooper, my princess wouldn't let an injury stand in the way of her completing whatever mission she had assigned herself, and she was going to see this dance through to the end, which included scoring.

She leaned heavily against me while we waited for the scores, and she wouldn't stop whispering to me how sorry she was. Finally I silenced her with a quick kiss.

"Hush. It isn't your fault."

The scores called out. So far I was in fourth place, but there were two other teams left to skate, Arendelle and Freezenburg. Right now it was more important to get Sofia to a doctor. We didn't even stay to hear the final scores, we just rushed her out and to the nearest medical center.

The doctor said it wasn't too serious; she had bruised her spine and she did have a minor concussion, but it wasn't anything that a few weeks' rest couldn't fix. He gave her instructions on how to take care of herself so she could recover as quickly as possible: ice her back every few hours, and drink lots of water. The only way to heal a concussion was just to wait, so he could do nothing for her.

When we finally got back to the hotel, there was a page waiting for us holding a little scroll. I recognized him as one of the scorekeepers from the competition. Everything must be over if he were here with the scores.

"Well?" I asked rather curtly, while he unrolled his little scroll.

"I-in first place, Arendelle. Silver medal goes to Freezenburg. Bronze to Wei-Ling."

"Yes?" I prompted.

"Where did we end up?" Sofia asked apprehensively.

He hesitated, as if he didn't want to say it. "Sixth."

There were eight teams competing, so we had finished third-to-last. I felt Sofia's hand tighten around mine, so I nodded my thanks to the scorekeeper and hurried her inside before the tears started falling again.

"Oh, Hugo, you would have gotten bronze if I hadn't-"

I kissed her again to shut her up. "Ice dancing is a partnership, Sofia. No mistake can be made by just one dancer. We're both responsible for what happens on the ice."

She looked at me with teary, sapphire-blue eyes.

"We'll get 'em in four years. There's a lot of time to practice now." I kissed her forehead, and she tried to smile up at me.

"You're not upset with me?"

"Not at all." I couldn't lie, I was painfully disappointed, but the safety and happiness of my princess mattered so much more than any medal. I couldn't be angry with her.


	4. Episode 4: Chocolates

A few days after we got home from the DOWGs, I went over to Enchancia Castle to see how my princess was healing. She had been mostly confined to her bed since the accident to prevent further injury to her head, but it had been several days now and she was well on the mend. When I arrived she was sitting up, cross-legged in her pajamas.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I brought her a box chocolates for which I happened to know she harbored a particular sweet tooth, and delighted to see her face light up when she saw them.

"Thank you, baby," she cooed, leaning up to kiss me with chocolate on her lips.

I licked my lips when she pulled away. Just that one kiss was enough to get me wanting her; she tasted so good. I leaned in for one more.

As we kissed I felt her move the box from her lap to the bedstand, then one of her hands snake around my neck, pulling me in closer. I kissed her harder, wrapping both arms around her waist, then brushed Sofia's lip with my tongue.

The princess in my arms gave a little gasp of pleasure, and she opened her mouth to let me in. Gently I explored her mouth with my tongue, keeping my movements slow and tender. She was still injured.

Her tongue came forward to dance with mine, in a dance we knew quite well after rehearsing it for a year and a half. We fell together like old playmates onto the bed, so that I was lying over her, and she looked up at me from the halo of auburn hair splayed on the pillow. The look in those beautiful blue eyes only turned me on more.

I dove for her lips again, kissing her eagerly, and a thrill ran through me when she wrapped one leg around my waist, pulling me against her, the contact and heat nearly driving me out of my mind. I wanted her so bad, and I would have her.

Breaking the kiss, I slid down to bury my face in her chest. Her breasts were an ample handful each, and there was more than enough cleavage for me to play in. Both hands busied themselves first with pulling off her pajama shirt, then began toying with her nipples, one in each hand.

When I did so, Sofia made a noise and arched her back, pushing herself into me. I gratified her by pulling my face from her cleavage and taking one nipple in my mouth. The little moan she made made me tingle with satisfaction; she was so much fun to tease.

My free hand ran down her torso and in between her legs, where I could feel the heat of her sex, and my own groin started to throb. I slid my fingers inside her panties to tease her further, and found her already soaking wet.

Switching nipples with my mouth, I used both hands to firmly yank away her pajama pants and panties, leaving my princess totally open for me to pleasure her as I pleased. And oh god did I love pleasing her.

With practically no hesitation I dropped down and buried my face in her pussy. Instantly I was rewarded with a cry of pleasure and I felt her hands close into fists on the bed on either side of me. She was loving this as much as I was.

Slowly, I started to lick, all the way from the bottom of her slit to her clitoris, patient and methodical, and just slow enough to drive her insane. Sofia whined and wiggled her hips against me, begging for more stimulation. Finally, I latched onto her clitoris and started to suck.

Sofia's muscles tightened around me, and I heard her breath catch in her throat. She liked that. I stayed there and gently teased her clit with my tongue while one hand found its way to her pussy and slid a finger inside. A moan acknowledged my presence inside her, and she started to murmur my name, running her fingers through my hair.

"Oh, Hugo..."

I started fingering her faster. She moaned louder. God, the sound of my Sofia in the throes of ecstasy was the best feeling in the world, and knowing I was the one who made her feel like that was even better. I slid another finger into her, and started making little circles on her clitoris with my tongue.

Her moans and cries got louder until suddenly her body started to clench around me, and her voice got stuck in her throat. Her eyes were open, staring down at me with unadulterated desire, while she pulled in short gasps with every motion of my fingers. I pushed harder, faster. I could tell she was close. I wanted to push her over that edge.

I sucked hard on her clitoris, fingering her as fast as I could until suddenly, it happened. Every muscle in Sofia's powerful body contracted, holding my fingers in a hot, wet vice grip as she let out a word that never crossed my princess's lips except in moments like these.

"FUCK!"

She came wildly, clutching at the sheets and arching her back, moaning loudly and bucking her hips up into my face while I continued to finger her, pushing her orgasm to last longer. When she finally collapsed back onto the bed, she was panting heavily and looking at me with hooded eyes.

"Hugo..." she breathed, and weakly held her hands out for me. I snuggled into them, holding her tightly.

Kissing her cheek, I whispered, "I love you, princess."

"I love you too, my prince."


	5. Episode 5: The Secret Library

The next time the Amulet of Avalor turned blue and called Sofia to the Secret Library, she still hadn't fully recovered from her spinal bruising, but, ever faithful, she sprang up anyway. We had been snuggling in the movie room at my castle watching Beauty and the Beast. I sat up when she did, looking from the amulet to her face.

"Can I come?" I asked. "You're still hurt." Since she had told me about the amulet, she had started taking me with her on some of her adventures, especially if she thought they might be a little dangerous. There was no way I was letting her risk going on this one alone, with a concussion, whether the story would be hazardous or not.

My princess gave me a little smile. "Sure. Come on." She took my hand.

We hurried downstairs and out to where our horses were waiting for us, then we saddled up and flew off to the Secret Library. As usual, Sofia switched into her purple adventuring suit with its wide lapels and striped bow tie. This time I didn't bother looking away, but watched unabashedly as my princess changed clothes. The way that suit fit on her strong, athletic body, it highlighted the curviness of her waist and hips, which made it impossible not to stare.

As we seated ourselves on the blue bench, the book floated down from the shelves that reached high over our heads.

"The Tale of the Lost Child."

As the narrator started to read, I reached over and pulled Sofia closer to me with an arm around her waist.

"Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a young couple came to the royal sorcerer for help." The image on the screen showed the pair of them facing an old wizard with a grey beard and a long robe. Sofia gasped.

"That's Goodwin the Great, Cedric's dad! This story happens in Enchancia!"

The narrator continued. "The sorcerer gave them a special potion. 'Drink this, and your next attempt to have a child will be successful,' he told them. They thanked him heartily and went on their way."

"Huh. That seems to be a pretty happy ending right there," I commented. "I wonder what this story needs you for."

But the story wasn't finished. "What the young couple didn't know is that the potion they had been given contained the trapped essence of a child that had already been conceived. Conceived by the sorcerer's own son, an errant sixteen year old."

Sofia gasped. "That's Cedric! He had a baby?!"

Cedric was the current royal sorcerer of Enchancia, and was known for having inherited very little of his father's magical talent, nor his flair for goodness and grace. But what the book told us next called those qualities into question.

"Goodwin had used magic to draw the child out of its mother and contain it inside the potion. Now that he had given it away, that babe would be the one conceived by the couple who had asked for his help. Cedric never discovered what became of his child."

"So Goodwin gave Cedric's baby away before it was even born?" Sofia realized aloud. "How awful! We have to find them and bring the two of them back together!"

She grabbed my hand and started to drag me back to the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked, wondering where she planned to start looking for someone who must have been born nearly twenty years ago.

"To talk to Cedric, of course!"

We raced back to Enchancia castle and barreled up the stairs to Cedric's tower, where Sofia knocked urgently. A man in his mid-thirties with a prominent graylock at the front of his hair opened the door, with a tired expression on his face.

"I know that knock," he said grumpily, but when he saw the princess's face his eyebrows shot up. "Sofia, what's wrong?"

She and Cedric had always had an awkward relationship. Sofia thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but his feelings towards her were always rather ambiguous. Occasionally when he spoke to her it was as if he had some ulterior motive, and I didn't like the way he looked at her sometimes.

But other times seeing them together was like watching the best of friends taking on the world side by side. They had confronted Cedric's father together before about other things, and they worked well as a team.

"Can we come in?" Sofia asked.

Standing aside to let us through, Cedric asked, "What's going on?"

"We read in a book about how your dad gave your baby away," Sofia replied bluntly. She had never been one to beat around the bush.

Cedric staggered backward as if someone had slapped him. "How do you know about that? What book is it in? Where did you find it?"

"I can't tell you," Sofia said to his obvious dismay. "But we're here to help you find them."

Suddenly, Cedric's whole manner changed. He straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down his nose at her. "And what makes you think I want to find it? Especially after all the trouble it took to convince Father to get rid of it?"

This time it was Sofia's turn to stagger backward like she'd been hit. " _You_ got rid of it?"

The sorcerer turned his head away. "I was sixteen, neither I nor the mother knew how or wanted to take care of a child, and we would have had to marry, and neither of us wanted to _that_."

Sofia was staring disgustedly at him. "You didn't _want_ your baby?!"

"No!"

For a moment I thought Sofia was going to explode. She turned bright red and her cheeks puffed out a little, which made her look downright adorable instead of as furious as I knew she was. Suddenly though, she turned on her heel and bolted out of the room, grabbing my hand as she went and hurling me through the door, which she slammed after us.


	6. Episode 6: Answers

Sofia stormed down the stairs, and I followed closely behind her, trying grab her hand, but she was moving too quickly for me to take it. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well it looks like Cedric already _has_ his happy ending to this story," Sofia grumbled bitterly, "So now all we need to do is find the lost child and give that part of the story a happy ending."

"How are we going to find them?" I asked.

"Let me think." She continued down the stairs. I stayed quiet as I followed her so she could concentrate on her thoughts. As we reached the bottom of the tower, Sofia gave a little gasp. "Goodwin the Great! The book said he made the potion, so maybe he remembers who he gave it to!"

"Are you sure?" I asked as we hopped into a flying coach. For a mission like this one we didn't need to take our own horses, and we could sit in the back of the coach together in comfort.

"Why not?"

"It's just, he might not remember. He's pretty old, you know." Goodwin the Great was easily into his sixties now, maybe his seventies. It had been almost twenty years since he gave that potion to that young couple.

Sofia looked resolutely over the side of the carriage. "We have to try."

Goodwin the Great and his wife Winnifred the Wise lived in a retirement village called Mystic Meadows, where Sofia had been visiting them since her early days as a princess. They both liked her very much, especially Winnifred, who had been known to tell Cedric that Sofia was the nicest friend he'd ever had.

Well, they may not be friends any more. I saw the way Sofia's brow was still darkened over the way Cedric had reacted. It was clear she had thought the way she would finish this story was by reuniting Cedric with his child, and now it seemed that she had no intention of bringing the child back to the sorcerer.

I hadn't actually thought about what we were going to do when we found this mystery person. "So what happens when we find them?"

"I don't know," she replied, looking up at me. "Usually the problem presents itself pretty clearly. We just have to make sure the child's ending to this story is as happy as Cedric's."

We arrived at Mystic Meadows then, and Sofia led me down a little dirt track to a handsome cottage with a large front porch and a squat chimney. The door was answered by a short old woman with large curls of hair that looked as though they used to be brown before they started to turn silver. When she saw the princess her wrinkled face lit up.

"Princess Sofia! It's so good to see you!" She shook Sofia warmly by the hand, then looked up at me. "And who is your handsome young friend?"

I felt my ears turn red.

"This is my boyfriend, Prince Hugo," Sofia introduced me.

This apparently delighted the old sorceress, for she giggled, "Ooh, he's quite a catch isn't he? Come in, come in!" She ushered us through the door, grinning at my reddening face.

In the living room we found Goodwin the Great sitting comfortably in an overstuffed armchair. His withered face split into a smile when he saw Sofia. "Princess Sofia! And to what do we owe your visit today, my dear?"

"We need to ask you something," Sofia said, coming to sit next to him in a little chair so she could face him. "About twenty years ago, you gave a young couple a potion that had the essence of a child in it. A child that belonged to Mr. Cedric."

The old wizard's face darkened. "How do you know about that?"

Sofia shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Can you remember who that couple was?"

Goodwin thought for a moment. "Oh, I really couldn't say, they were just simple folk from the village, cobblers or something perfectly anonymous like that. That was why I gave the bastard child to them. They looked like they would be loving parents, and no one would ever be the wiser."

But my princess wasn't satisfied. "A cobbler from the village...did they tell you their names?"

"Hmm..." Goodwin thought for what felt like a very long time. "I can't think what his name was, but she...she started with an N. Or an M. I remember it was a rather musical name."

"Please try to remember, Mr. Goodwin," she urged.

"Oh, I think it was... Miranda."


	7. Episode 7: The Confrontation

Sofia held it together impressively well. She held a blank face and nodded. "That tells me what I need to know. Thanks, Mr. Goodwin." And she turned slowly around and walked back to the carriage, staring ahead of her like she'd been blinded.

I sat down next to her and put a hand on her knee, but she didn't respond. Only a word came out of her mouth. "Me?"

I had no idea what to say. If Goodwin the Great were remembering correctly, there was only one cobbler in the village named Miranda who had had a child almost twenty years ago, and that was Sofia's mother. Which could lead to only one conclusion.

She sat limply in the carriage, eyes glassy and unblinking. "Me?"

Internally, part of me felt a spark of frustration. Why would the Library send her on a mission like this, especially now, when Sofia was going through her typical teenage fallout with King Roland? They had been arguing extensively recently, and it was giving Sofia cause to remember that day nine years ago when Hildegarde had told her Roland wasn't her "real" father. This was the worst possible way to find out about her "real" father.

She had always trusted Cedric, and liked him faithfully even when he was an idiot or a failure or when he was unintentionally cruel to her. And remembering how angry Sofia had gotten at him for just saying he hadn't wanted his baby, it made me cringe to think what my poor princess must be feeling now that she knew the baby he had thrown away was none other than herself.

Eventually, Sofia's blue eyes started to leak from the corners, though I couldn't tell whether it was from emotion or because she hadn't blinked in several minutes. But finally her eyes closed and tears spilled all over her cheeks. She leaned against me and cried silently, her body gently rocking with quiet sobs.

"That means..." she sniffled. "That means my mother isn't my real mother either..."

"I mean technically she still carried you and birthed you and everything, right?" I reminded her. "I'd say that makes her your real mom."

A sniff was all that answered me, and I pulled her close so she could cry into my chest. I didn't try to say anything for the rest of the ride home. When we got to the castle, however, she grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, leading me up the stairs.

I didn't need to ask, but I did anyway. "Where are we going?"

"To tell Cedric who he _got rid of_."

She didn't release her grip on my arm even when we stood in front of the door to his workshop. This time she didn't bother to knock but once, then she was turning the handle and barging straight in.

Cedric was sitting at his desk, poring over a book and something that looked like a set of potion ingredients. He looked up with a start as Sofia marched up to him. "What is the meaning of-?!"

He didn't get to finish his question because Sofia had reared back and, with every ounce of strength she could muster, had slapped him straight across the face. Sofia is an athelete and there is real power in her arms. Cedric hit the ground, hard.

"You selfish son of a bitch," she spat.

"What in god's name is going on-"

"I found out who it was."

"Who what was?"

"That baby? The one you didn't want? I found them."

"And you think that gives you the right to beat me unconscious?" The sorcerer was struggling to get back to his feet, clutching the side of his face Sofia had slapped. "Why, did they grow up to be somebody important or something?"

"Not important to you," she growled.

"You're being awfully dramatic about this, Princess-"

"Because it was me!" She burst out furiously.

All the color drained from Cedric's face. He stared at her incredulously. "You?"

"You threw me away." The look she gave him could melt glass.

"It was _you_?!" His entire manner changed from one of self-defense to shocked supplication. "My...my child was you? Sofia-"

"You threw me away!"

He tried to grab her hand, as if he could somehow fix this. "Sofia, this changes everything! I could-"

"This changes nothing." She yanked her hand away from him so hard he lost his balance and landed on his knees in front of her again. "You gave up all rights to me when you _got rid of me_ eighteen years ago." She took a step backward, looking down her nose at him. "If you didn't want me then, you cannot have me now."

"Sofia, if I'm your father-"

"No!" She cut him off with tears in her eyes. "My father is King Roland II."

Sofia turned to me and took my hand. "Let's go, Hugo." And she pulled me back through the door, closing it behind us.


	8. Episode 8: Resolution

The next day, when I came over, I found Sofia sitting on her bed and looking at her amulet. I closed the door securely behind me. I knew it was still a secret to almost everybody.

"What's the problem, Sof?" I asked, coming to sit beside her.

She looked up from the bright pink jewel. I remember her saying something about a trapped princess and it turning pink from purple when she was ten.

"The story isn't finished."

"What do you mean?" She meant the story from the Secret Library, the one called The Lost Child.

Sofia looked worried. "Well, you know how usually at the end of a mission the amulet turns blue again and we end up back at the Secret Library to see the book get finished and put back on the shelf?"

"Yeah." Normally the method by which we got back to the Secret Library was via scene change, where we simply faded out of the story and back onto the blue bench in front of the spade-shaped screen, where the narrator finished reading the story and the book reappeared through the window at the top and flew back up to its place on the shelf.

"Well...it didn't happen."

She was right. After the confrontation with Cedric, we had just walked down the stairs, then sprinted to her room, where she had sobbed into my shoulder until dinnertime, when she dried her eyes and smiled while we ate.

I dined with the royal family of Enchancia almost fifty percent of the time; Baileywick had a direct line to my family's steward, and the two communicated almost daily about who would be dining where, because they knew wherever Sofia ate, I ate.

"It didn't happen after I left?" I asked curiously, tilting my head.

She shook her head. "No, I was too busy."

"Busy?" I pulled her close to me, hoping she hadn't been busy crying.

"Mhm. After dinner I went to talk to Mom and Dad in the parlor. I was going to tell them about everything that happened, but, I don't know, I couldn't say anything." She looked up at me and her blue eyes were confused. "I've always loved my mom so much, and I just stood there and thought about everything we'd been through.

"She was the only parent I ever had; my other father died before I was born. I spent the first eight years of my life in a one-room house with her attached to our cobbler's shop. She had me sewing before I could walk. We were working-class, and we worked. All we had was each other. She's my mom whether I have her blood or not."

I could tell just by the look on her face that she loved her mother with every fiber of her being. The way her sapphire eyes glowed it was easy to see how much Miranda meant to her.

"And then I looked over at King Roland."

I looked sharply up at her. It was her name for him when they were fighting; it distanced her from him. But she kept talking.

"I thought about how much he loved my mom, how it didn't matter to him that she was a cobbler or a single mother, he just married her because he loved her. And he loved me, too. He gave me the amulet." She looked down at where her amulet sat against the soft, white skin of her chest. I allowed my eyes to stray over her full bodice before looking back up at her face.

"It had never occurred to me before that he didn't really have to love me. He could've married my mom and called me his step daughter forever, or sent me to boarding school or something, or even refused to marry Mom just because of me. But he wanted to be my dad. He wanted to be my dad."

Sofia suddenly looked down at her toes. I turned my head to try and see into her face. She looked thoughtful, and a little confused. "But Cedric didn't want to be a dad at all. He didn't want to be a dad so badly that when he messed up and got somebody pregnant, he got Goodwin to sell his child to my mom."

When she looked back up at me she had tears in her eyes. "And I realized what it really means to adopt someone. You not only take them in, you make them yours. I really am his daughter, and he really is my father, no matter who I was born to. He wants me, and for the first time I finally think I want him too. I want him to be my dad."

She paused for a second, looking at me with wide eyes, "King Roland is my dad."

I smiled softly at her, and she smiled back. Then, suddenly, we were back in the Secret Library, on the ever-present blue bench, with the book in her lap.

"And that," said the narrator's voice, "Is how the Lost Child found the family she loved and deserved."

We smiled at each other, then closed the book and let it float away back up onto the shelves.

"Wait," I asked as we walked back upstairs. "Did you ever tell your parents about Cedric?"

Sofia shook her head. "I've decided I don't want them to know. They're my family, and they always will be, so it doesn't matter."


	9. Episode 9: Plans

It had been almost a month since I had set blade on the rink, and I needed to get back out onto the ice. It was that itch I couldn't scratch except when I was skating. I couldn't help it; I had to dance.

I warmed up on the trampoline, a trick I had learned from another skater at the Olympics. We had all socialized during breakfast and usually dinner. The competitors from Arendelle really were very charming. Olaf apparently already knew Sofia, because when he caught sight of her he ran up in delight and asked if her amulet had broken again. My princess just giggled and knelt to give the little snowman a warm hug.

Elsa was a little distant, but the team from Wei-Ling were very friendly, and after the competition they had come to the hotel to check on Sofia and make sure she was okay after her fall.

I hit the ice and the first thing I did was to run through the entirety of my solo routines from the Olympics until they were absolutely perfect, which didn't take long since it had only been a month. Then I allowed myself a free skate, and just floated around the ice doing simple Stargazer Spins and quintuple Fireball flips. If I tried to go any slower than five flips these days, I didn't come down in time.

Halfway through my sixth spin, I heard the door to the rink open. I tucked and landed, turning to see Sofia trotting toward the ice with a huge grin on her face. "Hugo!"

"Hey Sofia," I said, gliding over to her.

"Hugo! Hugo! Hugo!"

I finally stopped in front of her. "What?"

"Hi." And she gave me her goofiest smile.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. It was going to be one of those hilarious days when Sofia was in such a good mood that all she wanted to do was tickle-fight and wrestle and make out all afternoon. So that's exactly what we did. I pulled off my skates and we went back into the trampoline room and goofed around for three full hours.

Everything I did made her laugh, and she was full of jokes, good ones and bad ones. God, her laughter was like music. Her giggles were like delicate flutes or tinkling piano keys. But when Sofia laughed-really laughed, from deep in her core-she laughed like an acoustic guitar, warm and natural, with a rhythmic quality to it.

After a full afternoon of laughter, and dinner together, I volunteered to see Sofia home in my flying coach. Minimus and Electra teamed up for the way there. Since I had gotten my coach earlier this year this had been common practice; the two horses pulled the coach to Enchancia Castle, and then Electra flew me back on her own.

I walked of Sofia to her room, and kissed her good night, then, once she had closed her door, I went down the hall and knocked on Amber's door. As she stepped into the hallway, I motioned for them to be quiet, and she hurried me into her antechamber and shut the door, so we could talk.

She knew exactly why I was there.

"I already have things in motion here," she whispered. "What's your plan?"

Sofia's birthday was in two weeks. Amber and I were collaborating to ensure that she had the best 18th birthday ever.

"After the party I'm going to recreate our first date, take her back to the Butterfly Caverns." It had been eighteen months since we'd been there, because we hadn't been back since our first date.

Amber stifled a squeal. "Oh, that's so romantic!" she cooed.

I smiled. "Thanks. You've got the party, right?"

"Just leave everything to me," she said with a wink. "Good night, Hugo!" And she disappeared into her bedroom.

The party was going to be huge. Sometimes Sofia preferred small parties, but that was why I would be taking her out afterward. Amber had planned for literally all of Sofia's friends to be there, and invitations had already been sent out. There would be eighteen different types of cake, eighteen different types of punch, and eighteen different types of musical groups had been invited to perform. It was going to be a gigantic affair.

Then, when the big party was over, I would take Sofia out, just the two of us, to the Butterfly Caverns, where we had gone on our first date, and have some champagne together on a blanket in the grass. Because the party would probably take all night, I had arranged for us to arrive at the caverns in time to see the butterflies return from their nightly venture at dawn so we could watch them fly back to the safety of the cave.

I had something special planned for our after-party at the Caverns.


	10. Episode 10: The Best Birthday Ever Pt 1

James and I waited at the bottom of the ballroom stairs for Amber and Sofia to join us. Everything looked perfect; Amber had gone for a crystal theme. Everything was in jewel-tones, lots of purples and greens, with delicately cut semi-precious stones encrusting nearly every surface. Baileywick stood proudly next to a cake buffet with eighteen cakes lined up along it.

Every single one of Sofia's friends and their plus-ones were gathered on the dance floor, everyone watching the top of the stairs, waiting for the birthday princess to arrive. Eventually Amber came to the top of the stairs and clapped to get everybody's attention.

"Presenting your guest of honor, your birthday princess, the one, the only, Princess Sofia!"

A boom of applause and cheers came from the crowd as Amber stepped aside to allow her sister to come forward. As she came into view, the applause doubled, and she blushed. Amber had pulled her hair up in a mass of curls, and the dress she picked out was form-fitting and light pink, and covered in tiny scintillating crystals so that when the spotlights hit her, she shimmered just like the gemstone decor. She was beautiful.

The cheering didn't die down until she hit the bottom of the stairs, where everyone rushed to greet her. She grinned and hurried into their waiting arms, and I looked on in satisfaction as Sofia proceeded to have the time of her life at her birthday party.

My princess sampled everything, all eighteen cakes, all eighteen types of punch, and we danced at least one dance to each of the eighteen musicians. We spent hours on the dance floor, and Sofia still found opportunity to talk to each of her guests and thank them for being there. Sofia had a remarkable way of making everybody feel special, even when there were a hundred people in the room.

The party went on all night. Roland and Miranda joined the festivities for the first couple of hours, then they retired to their room which was, thankfully, on the other side of the castle, and well protected from the noise we were making.

Eventually the guests started to filter out, sleepily making their way back to their own castles, or the village, or wherever they had come from. Sofia had friends from all over, and all of them had turned out for her party.

When about half of the crowd had left, I gently took Sofia's hand and whispered, "I have one more surprise for you if you wanna come with me."

She looked up at me with her big sapphire eyes and smiled. "Yeah?"

I grinned. "Yeah. Come on."


	11. Episode 11: The Best Birthday Ever Pt 2

As the flying coach landed on the soft green grass in front of the cavern, Sofia gasped and looked back at me. "Oh Hugo, it's where we went for our first date!"

I spread a plush blanket on the ground and set Sofia down on it, then went back to the coach to fetch a bottle of champagne. I sat down next to her and poured us both a glass. I held my champagne flute up for a toast.

"To our past, our present-" I leaned forward to kiss her cheek, "-and our future."

Sofia blushed and giggled and clinked my glass. "To the future."

It didn't take long for both of us to finish our drinks, and soon the glasses had been set aside on the corner of the blanket, so we could sprawl on the ground, kissing madly.

Above us, the butterflies started to filter back into the cave, but neither of us cared. I was too wrapped up in the softness of her lips, the nimbleness of her tongue dancing with mine. In the year and half since we'd been dating, Sofia had gone from a good kisser to an incredible one. She knew exactly what to do to get me going.

Sofia ran her hands up my back under my jacket, and I shrugged it off, tossing it aside. Before I had even gotten my jacket all the way off she was already working on the buttons to my shirt. I reached around behind her and unzipped her dress, then leaned down to kiss her again while she tried to pull my shirt off.

I broke the kiss and wiggled out of it, tossing it over by my jacket. Then I tugged at the hemline of her dress, prompting her to take it off and throw it in our growing pile of clothes.

Sofia sat up on her knees in front of me so she could undo my belt, nudging me to stand up and get rid of my pants. I obeyed faithfully, perfectly willing to follow her every whim.

As soon as I had kicked my pants and boxers aside, Sofia had me in her mouth. I loved how eager she always was, the way she looked at me right before she put my cock in her mouth. It turned me on to know how bad she wanted me.

Sofia bobbed up and down my length, pausing at the head every two or three strokes. Her mouth felt incredible, hot and wet, sending thrills all through me as she sucked my dick.

Before too long, however, I pulled myself out of her mouth and dropped down onto my knees so I could be eye level. She gave me a confused look. "But I wasn't finished," she said, as if she were disappointed to have her fun cut short.

But all I said was "I know," before I silenced her once more with a kiss. Wrapping an arm around her, I unhooked her tight, strapless bra, letting her full breasts bounce freely. Then I used that arm to lower her down onto the blanket so I could take her right nipple into my mouth, eliciting a gasp from my partner.

I alternated between suckling on her nipple and flicking it with my tongue, teasing it until it was hard and erect, then I switched to the left one, and repeated myself. I always tried to give both nipples equal attention. Sofia moaned and whimpered appreciatively, running her hands through my hair, making it stand on end. God, that felt good.

After a minute I pulled her panties off and moved down to taste her pussy, already soaking wet with her arousal. I pressed my mouth into her and licked up her wetness, lavishing her with little kisses on her clitoris. I didn't stay down long, though, and soon I pulled away and wiped my mouth so I could lean up to kiss her again.

She whined into the kiss. "I'm still not finished!" she moaned.

Once again, I whispered, "I know." I lowered myself onto her as I kissed her again, letting some of my weight rest on her, pressing us together as close as I could. "I told you I had one more suprise for you, didn't I?"

I sat up partially, so I could graze her slit with the tip of my cock. Her eyes widened and a huge smile lit up her face. "Really?" she gasped.

"Happy birthday, Sofia," I said with a soft smile.

"Oh, Hugo!" My princess suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down into another passionate kiss. While we kissed I ran one hand down the inside of her thigh, and I could feel the goosebumps rise under my touch. I hooked my hand under the back of her knee and lifted her leg up and to one side.

I broke the kiss so I could look at her. I wanted to be looking into those shining blue eyes, to see exactly what she felt on her first time ever, after waiting a year and a half for this moment. "You ready?"

"Yes!" came the eager reply.

Gently, I rubbed the tip of my cock up and down her slit, lubricating it and preparing her for me. Her blue eyes locked with mine, and I could see the longing in them as I touched her. I exhaled. "Okay."

As slowly as I could, I pushed myself inside of her. She gasped as the head slipped into her hot depths, and I could watch the wonder growing on her face as my cock pressed deeper and deeper into her. "Oh, my god, Hugo..."

Eventually my hips sat flush against hers, and she stared up at me with glassy blue eyes, and I leaned down to kiss her, pressing everything I had into her until we were as close together as two people can possibly be.

After just a short moment, though, I broke the kiss and sat up slightly so I could look at her again as I started to pull myself out of her and press back in. Holding her leg up to get a better angle, I went as slowly as I could, making the sweetest love to my princess that I could.

Her face showed every spasm of pleasure, and I could feel her tightness around me. She felt incredible, like nothing I'd ever felt, even better than the way her mouth felt, which I thought had been heaven itself. But this left it all behind. Making love to my princess felt so good, so right, so perfect.

She was moaning loudly now, in time with my strokes as I started to pick up speed. "Hugo-o-o-o!"

I was pushing faster now, plunging in and out of her tight, hot sex, feeling my own breath begin to quicken with the intensity of the pleasure. Good god, she felt amazing.

"Oh, my god, Hugo, Hugo!"

I grabbed her other leg and pushed it upward, too, so I could dive even farther inside of her, thrusting faster and faster as I watched her eyes widen and felt her tighten around me. She was close. I pushed harder, silently begging for her orgasm.

"Oh, my god, ohh my god, oh my GOD!"

It happened. Her powerful muscles clenched around me in a hot vise grip and her back arched into me. I kept going, holding her trembling legs up, milking her orgasm as long as I could before very suddenly I felt my own rising in me.

I pulled out of her and turned aside just in time, squirting my cum into the grass beside us. "Oh, my god, Sofia..." I fell onto the blanket next to her and pulled her into my arms, kissing her temple.

She was still gasping, leaning limply against me. "Hugo... Oh, Hugo."

I loved the way she used my name. I leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Happy birthday, princess."

Sofia looked up at me with shimmering blue eyes. "I love you, Hugo."

"I love you too, Sofia."


	12. Episode 12: The Goblin King

The amulet seemed to be turning blue a lot these days.

Once again we were sitting on the blue bench, watching a book come floating down from the shelves and rest in our lap.

"The Tale of the Goblin King," Sofia read aloud.

"Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Isleworth-"

My princess perked up, pointing at the screen. "I've been there! That's where Princess Charlotte lives!"

"-there lived a beautiful queen named Queen Charlotte and her true love, Morris the Goblin."

"True love?" Sofia repeated, then happily pumped a fist in the air. "I knew it!"

"Charlotte wished to marry her goblin love, but the people of Isleworth objected to the match. They refused to accept the idea of an interspecies marriage, especially into the royal family. Even though Charlotte would still technically be in charge of the kingdom, no one would accept Morris as a suitable partner for their queen. The citizens of the villages held protests, with signs saying things like "No Goblin King," "Royal blood is pure blood," and "Only humans rule."

Sofia gasped. "That's awful! How can her people be so shallow, especially after Charlotte was a beast herself once!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. She apparently knew this kingdom fairly well if she knew Queen Charlotte's personal history.

"We have to go!" Sofia grabbed my wrist and dragged me out the door.

When we arrived the Isleworth the royal steward showed us into the throne room where Charlotte was sitting on a golden throne with light maroon upholstery that matched the gemstone on her crown, which held back masses of red, wavy hair. She sat with her cheek resting on one hand, looking despondently at the carpet.

"Charlotte!" Sofia cried, hurrying forward.

The queen looked up and gasped. "Sofia!" She jumped up from her throne and ran to her and embraced my princess. "You're so tall!" she squealed.

Sofia giggled.

"Are you here to help me again?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, we're here to help your people accept Morris." Sofia paused a moment. "Oh, this is my boyfriend, Prince Hugo." She gestured to me. "He's here to help too."

"Charmed to meet you, Hugo." She curtsied. "I'm Queen Charlotte." Then she turned back to my princess. "Oh, Sofia, I just don't know what to do! Morris and I have wanted to get married for so long, but I'm afraid there might be a revolt if we do!"

Sofia put her hand over one of Charlotte's. "Don't worry. We're going to make sure you two can get married in peace."

Charlotte sighed. "Morris suggested we make a potion that can turn him human, but I can't bear the thought of his changing himself just so people will accept him. I love him the way he is, and that's how I want him to stay."

"Of course it is! We would never think of trying to make Morris into something he's not."

At that moment, from one of the side corridors, a huge, fanged goblin in buckle shoes and a scarf came into the throne room, flanked on either side by a royal guard. When he caught sight of Sofia, his face broke into a wide, toothy grin.

"Princess Sofia?"

"Hi, Morris!" she cried, coming forward to give him a hug.

"It's so good to see you!" he said, hugging her back. "It's been almost ten years! I'm afraid you've come at kind of a bad time. We have some problems right now."

"That's why I'm here," Sofia replied. "To help the people of Isleworth accept you."

A cloud passed over Morris' face and he frowned. "I'm afraid we have more problems than that."


	13. Episode 13: Waterfalls

"What?" Charlotte came forward and took her lover's hand. "What else is going on?"

One of the guards held up his hand, in which he was holding by the ankles a wriggling little man with a green beard. Charlotte gasped in horror. "A leprechaun!"

"We caught this one trying to pull a gold watch out of the duke's pocket," the guard said, glaring down at the imp dangling from his ankles.

Morris looked darkly at the little creature and grumbled, "And where there's one,"

"There's a colony," the guard finished for him. "We've already had reports of golden items disappearing from people's pockets and homes."

Charlotte groaned, pressing her thin white hand against her forehead. "This is horrible! It isn't enough that we can't get married, but now there's a colony of leprechauns on the loose! What are we going to do now?"

"Well," suggested Sofia, "Maybe we can find the missing gold and get it back?"

"But where would a colony of leprechauns hide their treasure?" I asked.

Charlotte and Morris exchanged a look, then the two of them said together, "At the end of the rainbow, of course!"

Suddenly I felt a little foolish for not figuring that out myself.

"Can we go right now?" Sofia asked.

Charlotte looked down at her. "We'll want supplies. It's a long trek to the end of a rainbow. Let's meet back here in less than an hour and we'll be ready to go with you."

Forty-five minutes later, and the four of us set off on our long adventure. As I looked up at the sky, I frowned at looked back at the rest of the party. "How do we find the end of a rainbow when there's no rainbow?"

"Rainbows don't always happen all the way across the sky, you know," reminded Queen Charlotte.

"What do you mean? Where else do you find a rainbow?"

Sofia thought for a second, then her eyes lit up. "Water! When there's water in the air sometimes it'll make a rainbow!"

"Like at a waterfall?" I asked.

"Yes!" Charlotte and Morris both said once, but then Charlotte frowned. "But our kingdom has half a dozen waterfalls!"

Morris shrugged. "I guess we're going to have to check all of them. We can't allow the leprechauns to steal from the people of Isleworth any longer."

"Let's go," Sofia said. We all turned to the door and walked out into the forest.

It took a good half hour to reach the first waterfall in Isleworth. This one was very wide and shallow, without enough spray for the light to make a rainbow from it. We all sighed and shook our heads. One down, five more to examine. We were turning to leave when the forest gave a great rustling, and a large column of leaves, flying and swirling as if there were a great wind holding them off the ground. We all stared at it blankly until a voice came from the floating foliage.

"Help me!"

We all jumped back. Morris was the first to recover. "Uh, what are you?"

The group of leaves swirled in the air. "I'm a dryad. Please come—ow! They're trying to cut me down!"

Charlotte and Morris and Sofia all leapt forward to follow the leaves that guided us into the forest. While we followed, I moved closer to Sofia so I could whisper, "What's a dryad?"

"A dryad is a tree spirit. Somebody is trying to cut down her tree!"

We all hurried after the column of flying leaves until we came before a massive birch tree, with shimmering white bark and light green foliage that matched the ones that hung in the air beside us. At its base were a pair of teenaged boys, carving shapes into the flesh of the tree with a pair of small knives. Every stroke of the knife caused the dryad to shudder and flinch; it obviously hurt the tree to carve on it like that.

Morris stepped forward. "What do you think you're doing?"

Both boys looked up, saw a goblin standing over them, and immediately both backed up against the tree, like deer caught in lantern light. But Morris didn't back down. "You're hurting the tree. And for what, for fun? Look what you've done to her!"

The boys looked down at their carvings and back up at Morris. Finally, the braver of the two of them piped up. "What do you care?"

Before Morris could falter, Sofia stepped up. "Don't you know who this is?" she asked them. All eyes turned to look at her as she rolled her eyes dramatically, as if it were the most obvious question in the world. She gestured to Morris. "You are addressing the Goblin King, protector of Isleworth's forests and spirits. He can even talk to the trees," she added. Everyone watched a confident smile cover her face.

"And he knows what you've been doing," Sofia continued. The boys both looked over at Morris, who raised a disapproving eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?" he asked in a steady, authoritative tone.

The one who had spoken before looked like he was about to cry, but the second one burst out, "I'm sorry for hurting the tree!"

Morris scrutinized them carefully, then said in a quietly firm voice, "If the trees ever have to come to me for protection from you two again, I will not let you off the hook as easily. Now both of you run home and think about the pain you've caused here today."

Both of them scurried away in terror, calling back "thank you"s for letting them off easy.

The column of leaves swirled around the great birch, then gathered together to form the body of a green female form, about four feet tall. "Thank you so much for saving me!" she cried to Morris and Sofia. "Please, take this in return." In one leafy hand the dryad held out a small wooden flute. "Play it, and dryads will hear you and come to your aid."

Morris accepted the flute and put it in his pocket. "Thank you!"

The tree spirit bowed.

"Say," Sofia asked, "Would any of your tree friends know where we could find a waterfall with a rainbow? We're trying to track down the leprechauns. Do you know where they're taking all the gold?"

"I can ask around," the dryad said, and gave off a loud rustle of leaves. After a moment this rustling was answered by similar sounds, from all over the forest. The dryad listened to the sounds coming from the other trees. "The waterfall you're looking for is three miles in that direction. You'll be able to hear the falls it long before you see it."

"Thank you so much!" Sofia said with a grin, and we all headed off in the direction that the spirit had indicated.


End file.
